MG M9 First Drive Review - Meganificient

Thanks to my profession, I get to see and drive all kinds of vehicles. So, it takes something really unusual to catch me off guard. But MG managed to do just that with their latest offering, the M9 electric MPV. This is mostly thanks to its ginormous size. I actually stood in front of the vehicle for a few minutes to simply come to terms with its proportions. Yes, MPVs are supposed to be big so that they provide plenty of space, but the M9 is truly BIG!

But beyond the grandeur of the size, does this new electric MPV have enough to offer to sway customers in the highly picky luxury MPV segment in its favour?

MG M9 First-row Review - Driven by comfort

If you bought the M9, chances are that you won’t spend much time in the first row. But should you find yourself there, you’ll still be perfectly comfortable. The driver seat is 12-way power-adjustable, while the front passenger gets 8-way power adjustment. Both seats come with ventilation, heating, and a massage function. Combined with a very comfortable cushion, these seats are very welcoming. I am six feet tall and had no trouble with the space on offer in the first row either.

There is a wireless charger and a pair of USB ports to keep your devices juiced up. Storage is well thought out too – large bottle holders in the doors, a pair of cup holders on the armrest, and a generous tray in the middle of the floor, thanks to the lack of a conventional transmission. Simply put, there is no shortage of space, whether for people or their belongings.

The dashboard has a mostly clean design with minimal physical controls below the touchscreen. This is something I am not a big fan of. I find it tedious to rely on the touchscreen for nearly every function. MG should have given some buttons for basic functions so that the driver does not have to shift their focus from the road to the touchscreen.

Speaking of the touchscreen, it is a 12.3-inch unit with a clean, intuitive interface and a snappy touch response. That said, the thick bezels around it detract from the otherwise modern cabin aesthetic. The 7-inch digital MID has a similar issue and the graphics look a bit outdated. In fact, the bezels feel like something you would find on screens from the early 2000s. I also noticed a curious omission – the MID doesn’t display the battery percentage in numbers; it just shows a standard battery icon, which is not as helpful. So, you will not really know if the battery is at 85% or 70%.

MG M9 Second-row Review - Volume & Vanity

The second-row experience in the M9 is really something special. You get a pair of 16-way power-adjustable captain seats, each with an embedded touchscreen, which allows you to control not just your seat position but also the 64-colour ambient lighting, window position, and AC settings. The seats also come with heating, ventilation, and a massage function – all of which can be controlled via the aforementioned touchscreen. Once again, the seat comfort is amazing. There is ottoman support and you can even recline the backrest to have a lounge-like experience.

Space is abundant, and the large windows, along with the ‘yacht sunroof’, make for a very bright, airy, and inviting cabin. The quality of materials used inside is excellent throughout, adding to the overall sense of luxury. If I had to nitpick, I’d say that the presence of manual sunblinds in the second row feels a little out of place in an otherwise high-tech cabin.

Accessing the third row is a bit tricky – you have to squeeze through the narrow space between the second-row seats. The second row seats can be moved closer to each other or a bit further apart. In case you want to access the full recline, the seats will have to be closer to the middle but you can push them apart to have more space in the middle for passengers to access the final row. Once you get to the third row, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the space on offer – it’s enough for three average-sized adults to sit in reasonable comfort. You also get two USB-A ports and a pair of side-mounted AC vents, which is a nice touch.

The only issue here is the lack of under-thigh support – a common issue with third-row benches. Now, even with the third-row seats pushed all the way back, the boot is spacious enough to accommodate a few small bags. And, then, there is the 55-litre frunk up-front for some extra storage. This is one MPV that can actually carry a decent amount of luggage, even with all three rows in use.

MG M9 Drive Review - On the Move

Propulsion is handled by a 242bhp motor mounted on the front axle, generating 350Nm of peak torque. On paper, the torque feels a bit low for an EV but, contrary to my doubts, this setup offers brisk acceleration despite the M9’s large proportions and the heavy weight of the 90kWh battery.

No, it won’t launch like a rocket, but triple-digit speeds come easily, and the M9 feels right at home on the highway. In addition to the usual driving and regen modes, the M9 also offers modes for the steering and brake response – a surprising amount of driver-focused features for an MPV. Sadly, MG hasn’t made accessing these features particularly intuitive. As I mentioned earlier, there is a lack of buttons inside the cabin so you cannot access these options with any dials or buttons. You are forced to dig through the touchscreen menus to make adjustments. I feel that at least having paddle shifters behind the steering wheel to change regen modes would have been nice.

The M9 has a certified range of 548km from the 90kWh battery. While we did not have enough time to properly test out the real-world figure, I feel that it is good enough for a vehicle of this class, considering that most MPVs tend to run pre-planned and pre-defined routes. It is not a stellar figure and a longer range would have been more reassuring for sure. The M9 supports fast charging, which can charge the battery from 30% to 80% in just 30 minutes. Safety has been well addressed, too. The M9 comes loaded with a bunch of Level 2 ADAS functions and has already scored a 5-star rating in both ENCAP and ANCAP crash tests.

After spending some time behind the wheel of the M9, I realised that a fully-electric luxury MPV makes perfect sense, for you get a silent and refined in-cabin experience — basic qualities needed in a good people mover. However, the ride quality leaves you wanting more. The suspension tuning, in the current state, allows too many minor road imperfections to filter into the cabin – a surprising shortfall for a comfort-oriented vehicle. While seated on the seats at the back, I could feel a lot of the smaller undulations on the highway. On rougher roads, I also noticed some vibrations creeping into the third-row backrest. These issues can be addressed by a suspension recalibration, and I do hope that MG takes note of it as soon as possible.

MG M9 Space - The Family Bruiser

The M9 is a big MPV – really big! At 5,270mm long and 2,000mm wide, it’s the largest in the segment by some margin. Yet, despite its big size and a largely minimalistic design, MG has managed to sculpt the M9 into something that looks bold and genuinely attractive. It is offered in three understated colour options, complemented by thoughtful chrome accents on the front and rear bumpers as well as along the sides. The 19-inch alloy wheels, surprisingly, don’t look undersized – in fact, they suit the proportions quite well. Our all-black test unit did look menacing whether it was on the move or stationary.

My favourite design element, however, has to be the connected tail lights. Yes, nearly every car these days has a connected design, but this one really looks cool, especially at night. The way the single bar splits and then flows down along the sides adds real visual drama. Making a people mover look stylish is no easy task, but MG has pulled it off with finesse.

MG M9 Price - MG’s Orbital Strike

That’s what the M9 feels like – a behemoth that lands with sheer presence, segment-leading features, and a price tag to match. It costs ₹69.90 lakh (ex-showroom), thanks to being a semi-knocked down (SKD) unit. This is a great price for the offering and is sure to give rivals a headache.

With the M9, MG now has a truly solid luxury product in its portfolio. So, it makes sense that the company will be retailing it through their MG Select channel to offer customers a more premium experience. We have seen other manufacturers take a similar approach for their high-end offerings. The only aspect that the company needs to work on is ride comfort. A properly tuned suspension could elevate the M9 from a great electric MPV to a really exceptional one.